Very confusing and complex — Scope | Disability forum
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Very confusing and complex

elainewillis
elainewillis Community member Posts: 9 Connected
Thank you for a previous reply to my other query ref mortgage interest payments which was straightforward.  I have an ongoing problem with the DWP regarding my ESA. I asked an advisor who deals in benefits for another organisation and he was totally baffled!  To put it as briefly as possible I will outline my problem. In 2013 I was getting contribution based esa. I was put in the work related category which I appealed against. Nothing was done regarding my appeal. I was then told I had to refill the claim form and resubmit it.  In 2014 I was transferred to income based esa as 365 days had passed.  I had never had a medical assessment.  In 2015 I received some monies from my father, which I informed DWP of.  It was below the 16k but above 6k. They stopped all my benefits until they calculated what I owed.  It took them 6 months to reinstate! Causing untold stress.  I then finally had a medical assessment.  The doctor was concerned that nothing had been done about my appeal and immediately put me in the support group. The DWP said my claim had been ‘re-built’ from 2013 and they paid me over £900, the difference from work related to support group. When my father passed in 2016 I inherited some funds again telling the DWP.  They immediately stopped my benefits again. They allowed me to use the funds to decrease my mortgage. Again it took them 6 months to reinstate my payments.  In December 2017 I was called in for interview where they wanted bank statements etc. They then asked me for all bank statements going back to 2016 which I have supplied. 
My concern is ... if I was on contribution based esa and in the support group, I understand that you are then on contribution based esa indefinitely and not just for 365 days and that savings are not taken into consideration. Had I been put in the support group in 2013 and as they rebuilt my claim back to 2013 I should still be on cont. based esa and not income based, so the funds I have received should never have been taken into consideration!  Also because my claim was rebuilt back to 2013 I then had to go back and have yet another medical assessment as DWP computer said I had been getting it for 3 years!  The doctor at this assessment was astounded!  So my question is really should I have also been put back on contribution based and if so any funds I have now should not be taken into consideration?
i know this may be a difficult one, I didn’t know the difference between the two esa benefits until this week myself. It just seems that every year since 2013 I have been battling the DWP I am also in the process of asking for a reconsideration after my PIP assessment where the assessors report is a total fabrication which I am able to prove with info from GP, Rheumatologist and numerous scans. My friend had to put together my letter and all the info as I just couldn’t cope any longer with all the stress. 
i really am at my wits end, is there anyone I can turn to for help without having to pay to see a solicitor?
Apologies for the length of e mail, I have tried to give an abridged version
thanking you in advance
elaine

Comments

  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello Elaine and welcome

    I think you might need to get trained help from CAB or similar.

    From what you have said it looks like you should have been in the SG all the time and therefore remained on contribution based ESA.
    Did you receive any other means tested benefits while on IR ? for example Severe disability premium. CT or HB
    Did you pay for your precriptions or get them free because of IR ?

    It is going to take some unpicking  think

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • elainewillis
    elainewillis Community member Posts: 9 Connected
    Hi again
    yes I do get the extra money for severely disabled. Does CT and HB mean council tax and housing benefit? If so yes, I get mortgage interest payments, although that ends April and I don’t have to pay council tax. I don’t pay for my prescriptions. 
    Even when I was put in the work related category in 2013 I was getting an extra payment for being severely disabled. I had been transferred from incapacity benefit/income support
    hope this helps
    elaine
  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,671 Disability Gamechanger
    You can try speaking to the Scope helpline on 0808 800 3333.
    Scope
    Senior online community officer
  • elainewillis
    elainewillis Community member Posts: 9 Connected
    Wow that was fast. I’m actually holding on the phone waiting to speak to citizens advise. Would the Scope helpline be able to help with this complex case?  

  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    Hi elainewillis, 

    There is little we can do on this forum because it needs a trained adviser to speak to the DWP on your behalf to unpick all the events. I know you have told us but sometimes the DWP paint a different picture.
    How your savings are treated is clear, if you are getting ESA C, they are disregarded but if you are getting ESA IR anything over £6,000 is taken into consideration and affects your entitlement. It just depends which period you were on ESA C, which period you were on ESA IR, and if you should ever have been on IR. If you haven't done so by now please try and get an appointment with a local benefits adviser to get to the bottom of it.
    If you find out anything further and would like more advice please post again.

    Lee
    The Benefits Training Co:

  • elainewillis
    elainewillis Community member Posts: 9 Connected
    Thank you.  I have now made an appointment with a solicitor who deals with only benefit problems. I know I’m going to have to pay but it will be worth it as I can’t handle any more stress.  I also have problems following my PIP assessment which was a complete farce and full of inaccuracies!  I think the DWP are targeting I’ll and disabled people who don’t have the energy or willpower to fight them. They should be going after the real criminals who commit vast frauds, but they’re not an easy target!
    elaine

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